SLC Water Conservation Group

Wednesday, February 6, 2019

The beautiful desert landscape in Utah creates water problems. This gives Salt Lake CIty an uncertain water future.Most of the land in the state qualifies as desert because it receives less than 13 inches of rainfall per year. Ever since settlements were made in Utah, ongoing efforts have been made to create irrigation, water storage facilities and other types of things for water usage.

The climate goes through wet and dry cycles. The usual duration of the average dry cycle

is three to seven years. Unfortunately, the seasons have been out of wack, and the wet

seasons have occurred less often. As a result, there are massive droughts in Utah. Of

course, droughts are pretty common in Utah. However, the droughts are unusually worse

due to the wet seasons not coming. Wet winters are not occurring as often as how they

should be.

The people of Utah use water that comes from springs, wells, rivers and streams. The water

is always either taken directly from the sources and used or stored. Of course, agencies first

clean the water so that it does not get anyone sick.

Utah is the second driest state in America, and it is one of the states that uses the most

water. The problem is that the infrastructure has to be updated to make communities more

water efficient. People's behaviors also have to be regulated. The populations of places in

Utah are growing, and with population growth and infrastructure growth comes the need for

more water. Already, the average person living in Utah uses 243 gallons per day per capita.

Eighty-two percent of water is used for agriculture, 4% is used for residential indoor, 6% is

used for residential outdoor and 8% was used for commercial/industrial purposes. Inside our

homes, the typical water use is 40% for toilets, 30% for bathing, 2% for utilities, 14% for

laundry, 5% for the kitchen sink, 6% for dish-washing and 3% for the lavatory.

Knowing how much water is used for different activities is key to figuring out how Utah water

problems can be knocked down. The goal of the government is to cut back the amount of

water usage in Utah by 25% in the next 50 years. People have to regulate their behaviors

on many levels—personally and industrially.

Another major problem facing Utah's water supply is the fact that chemicals such as

pesticides and solvents frequently get into the water. Better policies must be made to ensure

that this happens less often. In a state where water is already scarce, the last thing that

anybody needs is a tainted water supply.

Utah has its share of water problems and they are not just going to go away. That is why we

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

A terrifying assertion has come to the limelight recently concerning the men and women of Salt Lake City, Utah. While water conservation should always be a concern no matter where you may live, Utah residents are having to focus on saving water much more seriously now than ever before.
Utah Legislature has proposed the notion of actually changing the constitution of the state so that the rules will be readjusted. As it originally stands, the current law “prohibit[s] them from leasing their water rights to others” (The Salt Lake Tribune, 2018). Essentially, this means that Utah authorities want to make the option available to sell rights to water supplies. This poses a cause for concern for the local residents of Salt Lake City who support water conservation. The debate seems to be profits versus welfare. One side wants to sell the rights, which would greatly increase profitability, but the other side is only interested in saving water so that future residents are not facing a very real problem of not enough drinking water to sustain their own communities. If this framework of local water supplies were to collapse, thousands of homes would be without drinking water. This is a harsh reality that no one wants to have to consider being forced to deal with or try to find a solution to.
The goal that has been stated by forces in favor of leasing water supplies is to sell the surplus of water accumulations. Opposers like Mark Stratford say, “‘Neither the resolution or the substitute do anything to change the status quo,’ Stratford said. ‘Someone living outside the city would not be in a better or worse position. They keep us where we are’” (The Salt Lake Tribune, 2018). The concern is that even if the change may seem like it solves an immediate problem or provides some kind of instantaneous gratification, the long term affects are negative enough to render the entire project dangerous and rash.
Many believe that the entire subject just creates too many potential issues, and they state that this is one of those times in life when the risk/ reward ratio is just not strong enough to make it worth pursuing. Local resident representatives like attorneys and real estate agents propose that the results could be catastrophic to communities: “David Fife, a Salt Lake-area residential real-estate appraiser, said… ‘This is an economic weapon of mass destruction, if this were fully understood’” (The Salt Lake Tribune, 2018).

We want to thank our friends at Klingler & Associates for helping us share this important news. They truly help spread ideas worth sharing and they do the best tax preparation in Utah. The more you know about the water conservation effort here in Salt Lake City, the better you can help.